When the whaling industry collapsed in the 1960's, there were fewer than 200 humpback whales migrating from Antarctica to the east coast of Australia. This season has seen around 16,500 individuals making the journey. That's an incredible conservation success!
Despite this huge increase in numbers, however, the species is still considered to be vulnerable. Threats include:
- continued hunting by Japan, Iceland and Norway, in contravention of the global moratorium on commercial whaling;
- vessel strikes;
- entanglement in fishing nets;
- marine pollution;
- noise pollution;
- depletion of prey species.
The Australian Government is offering to create the world's largest network of marine parks and sanctuaries, which should help to protect all ocean species, including the humpback whale.
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